


No Sacrifice, No Victory

by FictionalKnight (Northern_Star)



Category: DCU - Comicverse
Genre: M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-28
Updated: 2009-12-28
Packaged: 2017-10-19 05:31:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/197453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Northern_Star/pseuds/FictionalKnight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Written for WFGE prompt F51: <i>Powerful aliens surround Earth and demand Superman come with them as their price for leaving, otherwise they’ll destroy the planet. When Superman agrees, Batman has a trick or two up his Bat-sleeve and stows away on the alien ship that takes Superman away. Bonus points for Clark not knowing until he discovers Bruce on-board or the aliens do. ;)</i></p>
    </blockquote>





	No Sacrifice, No Victory

**Author's Note:**

> Written for WFGE prompt F51: _Powerful aliens surround Earth and demand Superman come with them as their price for leaving, otherwise they’ll destroy the planet. When Superman agrees, Batman has a trick or two up his Bat-sleeve and stows away on the alien ship that takes Superman away. Bonus points for Clark not knowing until he discovers Bruce on-board or the aliens do. ;)_

The Justice League had always refused to give in to demands from terrorists, no matter how small the demands were, or how threatening the criminals were. They simply wouldn't do it. They knew that if they gave in, even just once, they'd be the targets of every other criminally insane person or organization hoping to gain profit from any demented act of desperation. They also refused to negotiate, of course.

Besides, they were the Justice League. They hadn't met a group of terrorists yet that they couldn't outwit and outmatch.

Except this time...

This time, there really wasn't much of an option left but yielding. This time, the terrorists had come in a spaceship the size of a small moon, and armed with the biggest, most destructive weapons anyone had ever dreamt of, let alone seen.

In a matter of just minutes, they'd turned Antarctica to steam - vaporizing the snow and the ice, leaving only barren land. Now they were threatening to turn every single ocean into desert, and there wasn't any doubt in the minds of the League members that these crazy aliens not only meant business, but they actually had the means to make it happen.

And that... was unacceptable.

So, in a desperate attempt at diplomacy, Batman had gone up - unarmed - to the alien ship to negotiate an agreement that would have them stop their attacks on the planet. If the League couldn't disable the ship, then perhaps the aliens could be talked out of destroying Earth.

=:=:=:=

 _A few hours later, in the main conference room of the Watchtower..._

  
"They want...what?" asked Wonder Woman, blood starting to drain from her face. "This cannot be a serious request!"

Superman stood a few feet away, his mouth hanging open in utter disbelief, while Hawkgirl looked alternately between the other three League members, shock obvious on her face.

Batman nodded once. "They want Superman," he said gravely. "And they were quite serious. They will restore all the damage they've done in exchange for us handing over Superman."

"But we can't do that!" Wonder Woman protested and she walked over to Superman. Standing in front of him as if to prevent anyone from getting access to the man, she added, "I won't let you do that. It is completely out of the question!"

Hawkgirl joined Wonder Woman almost immediately. "I won't let you either," she said defiantly. "You'll have to go through both of us."

"That would do little good," Batman told them. "They have the ability to teleport him off the Watchtower, should they wish to do so."

"Surely their teleporters cannot so easily pass through your state-of-the-art shields and security barriers," Wonder Woman commented. Her confidence turned to consternation when Batman failed to say anything in return. "You gave them the shield frequencies," she said accusingly. "Didn't you?"

Behind her, Superman let out a strangled gasp in surprise.

"They required it as proof of our good will," Batman said lamely, half shrugging. "What else could I do?"

"I can't believe--!" Hawkgirl shot, eyes narrow in anger. "You-- You--" she stammered, words failing her completely. She sighed in frustration, giving Batman a death glare, and marched out of the room, muttering a curse as she walked past the Dark Knight.

"How could you?" Wonder Woman asked, shaking her head, her expression one of disapproval. "Do you even realize what you've done?" Immediately she turned to Superman and added, "We won't let them take you, I swear it."

For a moment, Superman stood there motionless, looking as though the world had just opened up at his feet and he was expecting to be swallowed in. Then he shook his head suddenly as if to clear his thoughts. "I-- Maybe... Maybe it's for the best," he said, resigned.

"No!" Wonder Woman protested immediately. "It's not!" She turned to Batman again. "Their demands are unreasonable. How could you possibly agree to this?"

Batman let out a small sigh. "What would you have had me do? Yes, their demands are unreasonable, but when it came down to it, it was yield or be destroyed. The bottom line is that we can't survive without the Earth. But we can learn to live without Superman." Before Wonder Woman could voice her indignation, Batman raised a hand to stop her and went on, "Just like we could learn live without any one of us - me, you, the Lanterns, none of us is indispensable. But the Earth is. Besides, they didn't exactly give me a choice..."

"But you should have--" Wonder Woman started, now boiling with anger.

Superman interrupted her immediately. "No, wait... I think..." He shrugged. "I think he's right, Diana. You can go on without me. There are others. You can still protect Earth even if I'm not here. I--" He shrugged again. "It's a small sacrifice in order to prevent the destruction of an entire planet."

Aghast, Wonder Woman stared at him. "Small sacrifice? How can you say that? You don't know what they'll do to you! They could kill you!"

"You're right, we _don't_ know," Superman said calmly. "All we know is that if I go to them...if I go, they'll leave Earth alone. We can't fight them off, there's nothing we can do against them. Except this."

"I--" Batman let out a small frustrated sigh. "I agree."

"You should have tried harder," was all that Wonder Woman said to Batman before leaving the room.

"She'll get over it," Superman told Batman as he laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. "It's not your fault."

Batman's only answer came in the form of a noncommittal grunt.

"I guess this is goodbye, then," Superman said, squeezing his friend's shoulder ever so lightly.

Another noncommittal grunt and a whispered apology was all that Superman got from Batman before the Caped Crusader left the room in a rustle of black cape.

=:=:=:=

 _Several hours later, on the alien ship..._

  
Superman sat in the small room the aliens had left him in. It wasn't exactly a holding cell, but it wasn't exactly a five-star hotel room either... He looked through the small porthole to his right, at the blue planet that was slowly receding from view.

He knew that he couldn't do anything now - not when the ship was still close enough to be a threat to the Earth. He couldn't take that chance, not with so many lives at stake. But later... when the ship was far enough away, and he'd had time to assess his situation properly, then he'd be able to hatch a plan and go home again.

"I don't know how long it'll take," Superman said in a sigh. "But I'll find a way back."

"I've already got one," said a low voice, somewhere to his left.

Superman nearly jumped out of his chair, his head snapping in the direction of the sound. His eyes went wide when he caught sight of Batman, walking out from a shadowy corner of the room. "B.? What are you--?"

"What does it look like?" Batman replied. "I'm rescuing you."

"Rescuing?" Superman echoed. "How did you get up here?"

"Does it matter?"

Superman frowned. "And I thought you said-- Down there, before... You said the world could go on perfectly well without me. Why didn't you tell me it was just for show? I thought you meant all that."

"I changed my mind," Batman replied gruffly.

"You _what_?" Superman stared at Batman, his eyes wide in confusion.

"I'm not letting them take you."

"And you have a plan?"

"Of course I have a plan!" Batman barked, then calming down he explained how he'd been able to get the ship's schematics and how he'd figured out a way to disable the ship from the inside, provided Superman could create a distraction while Batman worked.

"I don't know, B... You're putting the entire planet at risk just by being here," Superman reasoned.

"And you're wasting valuable time arguing with me," Batman insisted.

"But--"

"Listen," Batman snapped, "I'm sure the world can go on without you, but I can't and I don't plan to. All right? Now let's get out of here and disable this damned ship!" Batman grabbed Superman's arm and pulled.

Superman got to his feet a bit dazedly. "Wait, so--?" He cleared his throat. "You're not doing this for the good of the planet, but your own?"

"More like yours," Batman muttered, "Can we go now?"

"I--" Superman's reply was cut short by the look of utter exasperation that he got from Batman. "Yes," Superman said, and he followed his friend out into the hall.

=:=:=:=

 _Sometime later, on the way back to Earth..._

  
"Would you stop that?" Batman complained at Superman who'd been tapping his fingers absently on the side of the computer station where he was seated.

"Oh, sorry," Superman replied sheepishly. He looked over to Batman who was piloting the ship. "Hey, so, um -" he swallowed uneasily "- do you think... um... is there any chance that... I mean, since, well, you know..."

"You're babbling."

"I-- yes, I guess I am," Superman replied with a nervous chuckle. "I'm just afraid that this is going to sound stupid if I say it out loud..."

"Just spit it out, S.," Batman suggested, his eyes never leaving the controls of the ship.

Superman cleared his throat, and after a long moment of hesitation finally said, "Would it be all right for me to ask you out? You know, like...on a date...?" He looked expectantly over to Batman, his cheeks turning a somewhat darker shade of pink.

"No," Batman replied flatly.

"Ah." Superman sank back in his seat. "Never mind, then. I guess I misunderstood what you meant."

Batman sighed. "No, no," he said in as gentle a tone he could muster while still speaking in his usual low, gravelly voice, "But could you at least wait to do that after I've had a chance to clean all the disgusting alien gut off of me?"

"Oh, so it would be all right for me to ask, then?"

"You know, for an educated guy, you're really quite dense sometimes..."

"And, um, how long do you think cleaning the gunk off your armor is going to take?" Superman asked, a lopsided smile on his lips.

Batman rolled his eyes. "Weeks, if you don't stop asking stupid questions..."

"But you'll say yes, then, won't you?"

"Maybe," Batman replied, "But you might want to ask Bruce Wayne... _Batman_ does not date."

"All right," Superman said, with a curt nod. "So, after we get back to Earth, and you've had a chance to clean up, and if I ask Bruce and not Batman--"

"Don't make me regret this," Batman warned.

"-- there's a good chance you'll agree to go out with me?"

"What do you think?" Batman muttered back.

Superman stretched his legs under the computer station, then crossed his arms behind his head. He glanced over at Batman quickly before looking back to the main viewscreen again. "I _think_ ," he said smugly, "that I'm glad you rescued me."

"You're welcome," Batman replied. Then, a mocking eyebrow raised, he added, "I think...."

  
=> End.


End file.
